Order of the Stick

[Miramon]

Why are you wasting your time on this analysis, Mr. Z, if you don’t actually think the strip is funny? Why isn’t reading the first 10 and deciding “I don’t get it” enough for you? I realize these are rhetorical questions…

[Mr_Zero]

It was absolutely marvelous for the rest of us. One of the strengths of D&D back in those days was how even decent dungeonmasters could adapt material - even non fantasy material - into an adventure on the fly. When doing the silly stuff, yes it meant “and you find a lightsaber” or “and now you’re dual wielding Black Razor and Stormbringer because fuck it why not”. OTOH, it made for all sorts of fun adventures. It wasn’t just about blending mythologies. It was fun to take favorite [books/shows/movies], adapt them, and then change them around. The next campaign could easily leave out sets of monsters/gods/etc just to give it a certain amount of flavor. D&D’s good side is with the hodgepodge showing a little bit.

Haha, I wouldn’t expect that, but then I’ve never actually seen a role playing session happen. I would have guessed it was much more focused on internal consistency.

Why are you wasting your time on this analysis, Mr. Z, if you don’t actually think the strip is funny? Why isn’t reading the first 10 and deciding “I don’t get it” enough for you? I realize these are rhetorical questions…

Wasting my time? Not at all – instead of watching the Thunder/Knicks game, I decided to dig into the narrative. I’m a writer, so its of interest to me to see how successful stories work, particularly ones that don’t make sense to me. And judging from his forums, Burlew has created a GRRM or Lost-style community centered around discussing his plotting, so he’s obviously done a great job of building a puzzle people are into. There’s a lot to be learned from looking at his mechanics.

[Hemlock_Bones]

In the beginning (and for me that beginning is Chainmail), the “rules” for DND were guidelines to help Dungeonmasters (Storytellers) determine what happened within a given encounter. The strength of RPGs are in the stories that come about, sometimes to the surprise of the DM (if he/she is good at it), than the rules that are used. In my estimation as the years have passed the guidelines have become more like absolute rules. Especially when it came to the ready-made content adventures such as the Temple of Elemental Evil. I always looked on those as stuff-I-could-add-when-I-ran-out-of-ideas sorts of things. Players who were “rules lawyers” did not survive long in my “world(s)”. Rich is doing what a good DM should do, creating an engaging and (mostly) consistent setting for his story.

I find OOTS to be entertaining but rarely LOL funny. I’m not into it enough to figure out what Haley was saying or what’s the deal with V or whether it’s politically correct in thought and content (people who look for that stuff will always find it), I like it more as poking fun at the standard DND/RPG elements.

[Dejin]

#880 Getting the Message is up.

[Twosixteen]

“You’re unbelieveable.”

BOOM!

That right there is how you do it.

[Rimbo]

“You’re unbelieveable.”

BOOM!

That right there is how you do it.

nod

That’s how ya do it, son. It’s called “writing.”

[roBurky]

Misogyny

I cannot believe how frequently women call other women whores (or some other gendered insult) in this thing. #053, #062, #160, #161, #166, #168, #171, #243, #250 (probably the nastiest one – Burlew takes advantage of Haley’s “hysterical aphasia” to have her call Miko a cunt.), #269, #285 (once again, aphasic Haley is mean – “frigid bitch” this time)

The men get into it, too: #202, #206, #221, #222, #237 (doesn’t technically count, since it’s actually Roy), #240, #246, #250, #281, #291.

Roy talks to his father differently than he talks to Miko. Dad’s a “self-absorbed arrogant jerk”. Miko is an “overbearing self-righteous bitch”.

Oof – instead of writing dialogue for Julia Greenhilt and her friends, Burlew gives them three panels of “blah blah blah,” interspersed with the words ‘clothes’, ‘wands’, and ‘seriously.’

None of this reflects very well on Burlew.

I really enjoy Order of the Stick, but I completely agree with you on this.

[Mr_Zero]

I really enjoy Order of the Stick, but I completely agree with you on this.

It’s a little odd, I think. While I was checking out the OOTS forums, I read a few posts which suggested Burlew was sensitive to certain topics – somebody floated the idea that Malack is supposed to represent the LGBT experience, and Burlew responded:

There is absolutely no intent on my part for Malack’s reveal to be any sort of allegory to any LGBT condition, and I frankly find the suggestion incredibly offensive because it would require that I had chosen to portray the LGBT experience as comparable to a monster that killed innocent people to live. Also, it would have required that I put the most bigoted and offensive actions in the mouth of one of my most benevolent characters. If I ever were to use any part of this comic as an allegory for LGBT experiences, I hope I would do so in a more thoughtful and positive way.

If anyone accidentally read it that way, even for a moment, I apologize.

I don’t know the demographics of his readership, but maybe he’s never taken any heat over it because of a skew towards male readers.

[rhinohelix]

Posts like the above are why we can’t have nice things.

[Scotch_Lufkin]

For Fucks Sake.

[Pjerrot]

First I was mad.
Then I was sad.
For the compelled hero.
writer Mr. Zero.

[Mr_Zero]

Oh man, can you feel the tension in the air? I know I can. I can feel it… all the way down in my plums.

You know I’d love to trade a few posts defending my honor as a critic – mine would be 600+ words, yours would be <100 – until two or three fans of the strip griped about derailing. But as diverting and no doubt productive as that would be, I must stick to my word: my observations were only observations, not a glove slap to the face. So undskyld, Pjerrot. Undskyld.

[Pjerrot]

No need to say sorry. I like colorfull people. Just pointing out a stray ray. That clashes with the pictures. You. Review. Forum. OOTS.

[Twosixteen]

Thus rises the Nova-Koontz from the ruins of a post-Koontz world…

[Dave_Markell]

To get back on topic, the Belkster is always full of surprises.

[Arkon262]

I am liking these two page strips.

[Dan_Theman]

Wow - when Belkar goes off, he goes off :)

[Zeitgeist]

Next one is up.

What have they done in the city before leaving?

[Dave_Markell]

Tarquin’s just refering to the fact that Malack’s vampirism was never mentioned during the dozens of strips that took place in the capital before they left for Draketooth’s gate (the arena fight plot and so on).

[Scotch_Lufkin]

I also get the impression there is something that happened before they left the city we are not yet privy too, actually.